in detail
On April 20, 1945, the SS camp leadership of the Neuengamme Concentration Camp succeeded in transferring over 9,000 prisoners to Lübeck by foot and by freight cars. In Lübeck, they were loaded onto three ships requisitioned by Nazi Commander Karl Kaufmann. It was the intention of the SS to create floating "detention areas". The "Cap Arcona" captain`s protest was defeated by threats of violence. The conditions on the ship were appalling - there was hardly enough to eat or drink, no medicine or bandages for the ill, and the Soviet prisoners were squeezed into one room on the "Cap Arcona" without light or fresh air.
On May 2, 1945, British air-reconnaissance discovered a military convoy departing from Neustadt in Holstein headed for Denmark and Norway. The following day this target was incorporated into the Baltic Sea operation plan. By positioning the unmarked concentration camp prisoners` fleet with naval military ships, the Nazis created a treacherous trap for the Allies to annihilate the prisoners. In compliance with Himmler`s orders, no prisoners were to fall into the hands of the Allies alive. The British command and Swedish Red Cross were not able to recognize the true situation outside of Neustadt in time and at 2:30 p.m. on May 3, 1945, three detachments of Typhoon fighter-bombers attacked the cluster of ships, suffering losses themselves. Submarines and the prisoner fleet carrying over 10,000 people were sunk. In addition, 200 prisoners from the Stutthof Concentration Camp, including many women and children, were murdered in the early hours of the morning by the SS and Security Service (SD) on the beaches between Neustadt and Pelzerhaken.
In 1948, when it was no longer possible to salvage the capsized ships "Cap Arcona" and "Deutschland" , recovery firms spent months breaking down the remains into scrap metal. In the years following the war, numerous memorial s and monuments were established along the Lübeck Bay and in Mecklenburg along the Baltic Sea coast. The international prisoners association “Amicale Internationale de Neuengamme“ organizes a congress every two years and on the 45th anniversary of the “Cap Arcona“ catastrophe appealed for ceremonies to take place on May 3-5, 1990 in Neustadt and in Hamburg-Neuengammel. At this time a memorial plaque dedicated to the embarkation of the concentration camp prisoners was unveiled in the Vorwerker Harbor. Since the 45th anniversary in 1990, the history of the catastrophe has been depicted in the "Cap Arcona" Museum in Neustadt.
April 20, 1945
The SS succeeds in moving more than 9,000 prisoners from the Neuengamme Concentration Camp to Lübeck where they are boarded on to a ship.
May 3, 1945
English fighter-bombers attack the ships in the Lübeck bay and over 7,000 people are killed.
1984
Wilhelm Lange is commissioned to prepare a written documentation and a memorial exhibition in 1985.
May 1990
The "Cap Arcona" Museum in Neustadt in Holstein opens.
May 3-5, 1990
Memorial ceremonies take place in Neustadt and Hamburg-Neuengamme on the 45th anniversary of the "Cap Arcona" catastrophe.
